Chris! Really missed talking to you buddy! How's everything been?? Just looking throb your journal and you've been killing it Interesting with the single leg deadlift, I've never tried doing those before, I think I would probably fall over...

klaatu21 wrote:sensai ross, forgive me for doubting you and myself

Mini Forklift Ⓥ wrote:There's only one thing I'm riding at 6am, and it's not a bike!

vegan_rossco wrote:Chris! Really missed talking to you buddy! How's everything been?? Just looking throb your journal and you've been killing it Interesting with the single leg deadlift, I've never tried doing those before, I think I would probably fall over...

Hey buddy! Welcome back from holiday! Did you guys have fun? I feel like I've been lazier than usual, but I'm glad someone thinks I'm giving it a go. The single leg deadlift (SLDL) can be tricky, but it's good for building balance! I won't lie, I have to keep a couple fingers on the wall to keep from toppling over and knocking my head off haha.

I've started in on the raw diet, 80/10/10 thing. So far so good - but only day 2 really. It requires quite an increase in actual consumption. That's really the hard part. This morning for breakfast I had 4 dates, a banana, and a chunk of watermelon the size of my head - and that was only 360 calories!

It was nice to mix it up today and bust out the TRX. Haven't trained with those in a long time, and felt like I needed a little change of pace. It's pretty amazing how challenging bodyweight training can be! Anyhow, eating super clean - and mostly fruit (a ton of medjool dates). Haven't felt hungry, but have had some difficult getting down all of the bulk that comes with eating 100% raw. For breakfast I had 4 dates, a banana, and a hunk of watermelon the size of my head. Snack was 3 plums, lunch was a huge salad, and another plum, snack was a pear, and some almonds, dinner will be another huge salad, and then some more fruit before bed.

Mini Forklift Ⓥ wrote:Nice work getting all of that fruit into you, sounds tough but kinda cool at the same time.

What does TRX stand for?

Thanks mate, it's a good thing I love fruit! Today for lunch I'll be having a mono-meal of bananas. I've never just sat and consumed multiple bananas before, but I'm willing to bet it will be an experience to behold! haha

TRX is a brand of suspension trainer - it probably stands for something stupid like "Total Resistance Xtreme!" Here is their website: http://www.trxtraining.com/. They have all kinds of attachments, and other stuff. They also cost $200+. So, I went with an off-brand, or "ring trainer," which sells for about $45. There are a ton of them on the market; just do a quick Amazon search for "Suspension Trainer." I just call the things I have "TRX" on here for ease. They are fun to use, and something to mix up training a bit when I get bored with weights (is that possible?).

So like an idiot I miscounted my weights, and forgot to add an extra 10lbs to my first round of bench. Thus, to punish myself for the oversight (or undersight), I changed things up and added some hypertrophy bench work at the end. Wanted to get some shoulder strength back in order after taking some time off from focusing due to likely injury. The 160lbs felt pretty good, honestly, as did the deadlifts - I did them Romanian style. It was also nice to get a couple full body days in this week. I'll focus on core tomorrow, and then add in a full body hypertrophy day on Saturday.

Food is right on track, and super clean. I haven't eaten a single processed item since.......... Last Saturday? Yep. The hummus. I can tell my stomach is getting super stretchy to accomodate all the bulk. Check out this ridiculous salad I had for dinner!

vegan_rossco wrote:Worst April fools joke ever! Ahha, food looks good man, so you're pretty much raw now right? That must take some doing

Totally raw for the past three days man. I'm actually down some body fat, and a couple pounds, which is good. However, I do find myself missing hot food - so maybe it takes some getting used to. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Felt great to get this in. Those Bicycle Abs are killer! Also, I may be on to something here with the diet... Just this week, after cutting out grains, my stomach is flatter, and I feel like my muscles are popping through. Most importantly, I noticed my scale body fat % has dipped below 18% - on the scale that is. I recall that the number on the scale differed by two (higher) when compared to a reading from that hand held "Omron" thing... I think I may get some calipers, and learn how to use them. Taking tomorrow of for rest, and then hitting it hard on Saturday.

Pretty tired after this, and had to stop midway for a snack. I think I started too late in the day, and ran into my regular lunch time. I certainly cannot train on an empty stomach, or hungry in any way. Felt like I was going to pass out after those deadlifts, and got pretty shaky. So, that means low blood sugar, and time to eat! Speaking of... I need to have some lunch!

BTW, breakfast was a mango, 2 bananas, 5 dates, and 12oz of watermelon, blended into a smoothie. 490 cals.